Solipism

Word of the Day

solipsism \SOH-lip-sih-zum \ noun

: a theory holding that the self can know nothing but its own modifications and that the self is the only existent thing; also 
: extreme egocentrism

EXAMPLES

The actor’s memoir of the years during which he struggled to break into show business is loaded with so much introspection that it borders on solipsism.

"Perhaps the most shocking part of [the novel] 10:04 is just how kind it feels, how Lerner is unafraid to show the narrator escaping intellectual solipsism and expressing real emotion."

— Anthony Domestico, Boston Review, September 2, 2014

DID YOU KNOW?

Fans of René Descartes credit the French philosopher with introducing solipsism as a major problem of modern philosophy, but the word solipsism most likely sprang from a French satire written by Giulio Clemente Scotti in 1652 called La Monarchie des Solipses. The term wasn't used in English until the late 19th century, when solipsism, a composite of the Latin solus ("alone") and ipse ("self"), was applied purely in the philosophical sense. Recently the word has taken on another, more general sense, suggesting an ego-driven selfishness or self-indulgence.

Expropriate

Word of the Day

expropriate \ ek-SPROH-pree-ayt \ verb

1: to deprive of possession or proprietary rights

 

2: to transfer (the property of another) to one's own possession

EXAMPLES

The city council rejected a proposal to expropriate private property for the highway expansion.

"The city spent nearly $50,000 to expropriate eight tracts that could be used for a potential studio expansion."

— Michele Marcotte, The Times (Shreveport, Louisiana), July 21, 2013

DID YOU KNOW?

If you guessed that expropriate has something in common with the verb appropriate, you're right. Both words ultimately derive from the Latin adjective proprius, meaning "own." Expropriate came to us by way of the Medieval Latin verb expropriare, itself from Latin ex- ("out of" or "from") and proprius. Appropriate descends from Late Latin appropriare, which joins proprius and Latin ad- ("to" or "toward"). Both the verb appropriate ("to take possession of" or "to set aside for a particular use") and the adjective appropriate ("fitting" or "suitable") have been with us since the 15th century, and expropriate has been a part of the language since at least 1611. Other proprius descendants in English include proper and property.

Global Village

Phrase of the Day

global village \ GLOH-bul VIL-ij \ noun

: the world viewed as a community in which distance and isolation have been dramatically reduced by electronic media (such as television and the Internet)

EXAMPLES

Thanks to crowdsourcing and the generous response of the global village, the couple received enough donations from strangers all over the world to pay their sick daughter's medical bills.

"Adding fuel to each of these contagions is our ever-growing web of connections to the global village, with the virtual tethers now so much a part of our daily lives that they no longer surprise. Every Facebook user, in theory, is just a single friend request away from some 1.3 billion others."

— Clifton Leaf, Fortune, August 22, 2014

DID YOU KNOW?

The term global village is closely associated with Herbert Marshall McLuhan, the Canadian communications theorist and literature professor hailed by many as a prophet for the 20th century. McLuhan's mantra, "the medium is the message," summarized his view of the influence of television, computers, and other electronic information sources in shaping society and modern life. By 1960, he had delineated his concept of the "global village," and by 1970, the public had embraced the term and recognized the idea as both exhilarating and frightening. As a 1970 Saturday Review article noted, "There are no boundaries in a global village. All problems will become so intimate as to be one's own...."